Methods and apparatus for extracting parasitic capacitance values from a physical design of an integrated circuit

Abstract

Computer-implemented methods and apparatus for extracting and computing parasitic capacitance values and capacitances respectively, from a physical design of an integrated circuit are described. In one embodiment, the physical design comprises a plurality of layered conductors which are disposed within a first dielectric material. At least one conductor of the plurality of conductors is identified, and for the identified conductor, the first dielectric material is replaced for calculational purposes with a second (fictitious) dielectric material having a dielectric constant which is higher than the dielectric constant of the replaced dielectric material. In general, the second dielectric may have a different dielectric constant for each identified layer or elevation. Parasitic capacitance values are then computed for the integrated circuit. In a preferred embodiment, spaced-apart conductors at a common substrate elevation are identified, and a distance between the conductors is determined. If the determined distance exceeds a predetermined distance value, the first dielectric material is replaced with the second dielectric material. Such provides a basis for extracting parasitic capacitance values and computing one or more parasitic capacitances which more accurately represents the effect of the presence of fill structures within the physical integrated circuit.